World
Hearing on Trump impeachment lasts for 13 hours in Senate
A 13-hour hearing on the impeachment motion against President Trump took place in the Senate – the upper house of the US Parliament. The local hearing began at 1 pm on Tuesday, it ended at 2 am on Wednesday. On the first day, there was a debate between the MPs on the rules of hearing. The opposition Democrat Party demanded that they be allowed to present more evidence and witnesses in the Senate. However, Trump’s Republican Party turned down his demand. 47 votes were cast in favor of permission to produce new witnesses, while 53 MPs voted against it. The Democrats’ demand in the Senate was thus turned down.
What next in the hearing on impeachment motion?
According to the rules set in the Senate, both sides will now be given 24 hours of preliminary debate. The process will begin in Washington on Wednesday afternoon (late night in India). The debate may end by next week. After this, senators (MPs) will be given opportunities to question the witnesses. 16 hours will be given for this process.
Which demands of Democrats were not accepted?
The Democrat Party, which brought impeachment motion against Trump, wanted to call people close to Trump in the White House for questioning. The party demanded testimony from Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney and former National Security Advisor John Bolton. In addition, Senate Democrat leader Chuck Schumer demanded Trump’s files from the Ukraine deal be brought to the Senate from the White House. Republican lawmakers, however, turned down both demands.
Trump accused of misuse of powers
Trump is accused of pressuring Ukraine to launch an investigation against two Democrats and his rival Joe Biden. Abusing his powers for personal and political gains, he sought foreign help from Ukraine in his favor for the 2020 presidential election. The Second accusation on Trump is that he prevented his White House colleagues from testifying in the House of Representatives – the lower house of parliament. Members of the investigative committee had said that Trump undermined the dignity of the presidency. He also violated his oath of office.
